Milton quickly became a storm on Sunday and is now moving east to northeast across the Gulf of Mexico. By the middle of the week, it should be a Category 3 or 4 storm on the west coast of the Florida Peninsula.
Parts of Florida’s west coast could be hit by dangerous storm surges and strong winds as early as Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Watches for storm surge and hurricanes could be sent out for the area later tonight.
The track is still not clear, but here is the most up-to-date information on how Milton might affect the Triad and all of North Carolina.
GOOD NEWS: Most models keep Milton well to the south, even though it goes along the west coast of the Florida Peninsula. This is because high pressure is building up in the southeast of the US and will stay there until the end of next week.
Milton will move to the south because of the winds, and it will stay off the coast and away from the United States. Some small changes could happen, but the current road is likely to stay the same.
Impacts on Triad & western NC
There is still a lot of doubt about where Hurricane Milton will go, but it doesn’t look like it will hit western and central North Carolina. Most of our state won’t be affected by Milton because it will stay too far to the south. For the next seven days, it will mostly not rain.
Coastal NC
Hurricane Milton will stay away from the southeastern United States, but the beaches of North and South Carolina might get some wind and rain from the storm’s outer bands. Heavy surf and dangerous rip currents through next weekend, on the other hand, would be a bigger risk.
From Milton, this is a picture that shows how much rain is expected right now. Southern North Carolina could get a very small amount of rain, maybe as little as a tenth of an inch.
Some gusty winds might also hit the coast of North Carolina, but most of the winds, especially those strong enough to be a tropical storm or hurricane, will stay to our south as Milton moves through Florida.
After Helene and the storm that wasn’t named a few weeks ago, some parts of North Carolina need time to rebuild and grow back. Milton won’t likely be a threat to much of NC, which is good news. The coast might get a few stray showers and winds from the outer bands at most.